Crazy Eight

Yesterday morning, I went out to feed Hazel and captured this Hallmark moment:

These just might be the happiest days of my life.

Alright.

I was walking and checking on cows yesterday, when Bam!  I came across the presumed dead calf of cow R350.

This calf was right by cow R350 and “You know that 8+ month pregnant cow David recently bought.”

This calf is a new one and did NOT have a tag in its ear.  We had just tagged “You know that 8+ month pregnant cow David recently bought” baby so we would know it was hers.

But I could not see “You know that 8+ month pregnant cow David recently bought”‘s calf.  And we are just gonna call that cow Crazy Eight now because she literally went insane.

Reader.

She went after me.

I had to run and climb a stick pile and hide behind a tree.

I took this photo accidentally during my narrow escape.

Reader.

Can you feel the terror?

That cow knew I was behind that tree.  And she stared at me with ill-intent and would not leave me be.

I stood there for over 15 minutes and I got all covered in sap.  It was sticky and unpleasant.

All the other cows got up and decided to change locations.  They do this and I have no idea why.  They are like all hanging out in one area, chewing their cud, then they all get up and go to another area and sit and chew their cud or eat or what have you.  They don’t talk to each other, but they all know what the plan is.

When her gal pals left, Crazy 8 started with them, so I felt it was safe, but then she turned back and went after me again.

Again, Reader!

It was obvious she did not know where her calf was, so she was all a flutter.  She finally left me be and I was able to get back to the house, but she was mooing and running all about like an insane crazy person trying to find her calf.

When I checked later, I was able to confirm that her tagged calf was with her.  And I saw cow R350 and her calf alive and well.

And then I noticed that Earlene went and had herself a baby.

And I wasn’t even watching her for a baby.  I call her Earlene because she has unique ears.  She doesn’t have as much hair on the top of them as the others, so I can pick her out amongst the other unmarked black cows amidst our lands.

Earlene is not crazy and does not wish to murder me like Crazy 8 and Cow R350.

 

I told David NO MORE WILD COWS and he was like, but remember the Elusives?  They were wild and they calmed down.

And here is a photo I took of Elusive with a Tag today and he is right.  I walked right up to her and snapped her photo and she did not try to kill me.

Happy Endings.

Anyways.  Last week we had three calves born and all three are alive and that is happy news.

David and the boys left early this morning to work at the river and were out of service.  Hadley and I were the only ones home when I discovered that 4 older calves had gotten out of David’s calf pen.

You guys.

I am like a true rancher wife person now.

I figured out where in the cattle panels the calves had gotten out AND I MENDED IT.

I got Hadley up and we tried for two hours to get calves in and we were unsuccessful so she went to town and I remained at home.

Three of the calves appeared out of nowhere on the complete opposite end of the property and I, yes, I, Taylor Maliblahblah, got them all back in.

All.

By

My.

Self.

It involved cutting open a panel and luring with grain and jumping the corral THRICE and shoving cattle to and fro and then repairing the panel, but I did it.

Here are two of them before I took their freedom away.

I had a few projects for today, but my day was taken with general animal husbandry and I kind of took a nap.  So no projects were completed.

Kate became a certified CNA yesterday and accepted a new full time job as a CNA.

She was exhausted.

Her graduation party is coming up and I had to go through a bunch of photos and I know everyone says it all the time, but-

Where does the time go?